


Complete Recovery

by Daydreamer



Series: The Healing Of Hearts [7]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Foreplay, M/M, Male Slash, Masturbation, Medical, Romance, Scars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-22
Updated: 2012-07-22
Packaged: 2017-11-10 12:04:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/466065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daydreamer/pseuds/Daydreamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his heart transplant, Naruto battles with deep set guilt and regret over his recovering health. Sequel to The Gift.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Complete Recovery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [getayaoilover](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=getayaoilover).



Each day, week, and month since the surgery was a new experience for Naruto Uzumaki in so many ways. He could jump and move without growing overly tired or being afraid of his heart giving out. The world was no longer passing him by for he was now able to live every moment to the fullest potential. His universe should only be filled with complete happiness.

But, it wasn't.

Staring in the mirror of the master bathroom, he lifted a finger to trace along the stark pink scar running down his sternum. It was healed and the color would gradually fade with time, yet he always felt self-conscious about it. He refused to let anyone touch it other than Itachi for his required medical exams and in the beginning, Sasuke when he helped change the bandages. With each passing day, the wound seemed to grow even more hideous to him, so that he could not bear for even Sasuke to look upon it any more. Just thinking about it was nearly painful to him.

The lump in his throat grew and he dropped his gaze to the sink. There was nothing to be ashamed of. He had spent his life with a faulty heart, unable to do things like sports or roller coasters. Life for him was spent on the sidelines watching others enjoy their health. To have this chance now should not be something to be ashamed of.

He wrapped his arms around his abdomen to ward off the faint chill creeping into his stomach. Itachi had given him the okay for sex a month prior and Naruto had yet to tell Sasuke. He wasn't ready for him to have full on access to his body and the scar. True, he could keep his shirt on, but he knew how much Sasuke was in love with the new heart. It went without saying that any sex would involve the shirt coming off.

Saying the real problem was something as superficial as a scar didn't feel right. Instead, it was a guilt so deep, it was taking root in his very soul and sucking the joy from his life. No one should have had to die for his life to continue.

"Damn it." Naruto's head banged against the mirror. He was going to the Caribbean with Sasuke in a matter of hours. The bad vibes floating through him were tearing him apart. This should have been a exciting time.

The phone in the bedroom began chiming and Naruto was forced to push aside his worries in favor of answering. Sasuke would never let him hear the end of it if he called and Naruto did not answer. He snatched it from its cradle and placed it to his ear. "Hello?"

"I have your lab work, Naruto."

Naruto sunk to the bed, his heart suddenly pounding far too loudly in his head. "I'm rejecting it, aren't I?"

"What makes you think that?" Itachi's voice held a trace of concern. "Have you had any chest pains?"

"No."

"Shortness of breath?"

"No."

"Fever?"

"No."

He could practically see Itachi frowning. The state came so natural to him when he was not teasing Sasuke mercilessly and Naruto had known Itachi long enough to be able to read him quite easily, even when not in the same room. "What's wrong, Naruto?"

"I'm scared," whispered Naruto.

"Of rejection?"

"Of everything. I haven't told Sasuke that we could…you know." A dark red flush spread across Naruto's cheeks. "I'm scared of what my scar looks like to him."

The words felt like a lie. True, the scar looked ugly to his eyes, but it wasn't really the superficial appearance of it that tore at Naruto. It was some unnamed guilt eating away at him.

"Are you an idiot?" Itachi's voice was more of a growl than its usual purr. "Sasuke would probably kill for you. I know he would die if you did. What on God's green Earth made you think he would care about something as minor as a scar? It's been six months since the transplant. I would think he would have gotten used to it by now."

"I don't let him see it," Naruto mumbled.

"What?"

"I sleep in a shirt and shower alone. I don't want him to see it. I don't want to see it." Naruto fell onto the bed beside his suitcase. His eyes traced the lines in the ceiling while his breath exited his chest in a long drawn out sigh.

"Naruto, is it really the scar that bothers you, or the reason for it?"

Breath stilled in Naruto's lungs. "What do you mean?"

"Don't try to fool yourself." Itachi paused a moment before speaking again. "Have you come to terms with knowing someone died for you to live?"

Naruto's breath caught in his throat. "Of course. I met his mother and sister."

"So soon after the surgery, you were too caught up in being alive and very potent pain killers. I would imagine the reality of your situation hadn't hit you yet. Now that you're home and healing, you've had time to really think about it, haven't you?"

Trembling, Naruto bit his lip and closed his eyes. "Yeah."

"And how does that make you feel?"

"What are you? A shrink?" snapped Naruto into the phone receiver. "I feel fine. What do you want from me?"

He could hear Itachi's smile through the phone. "I'm your doctor, but I'm also your friend. How are you feeling, Naruto?"

Tears seeped from his closed eyes and a small sob escaped his throat. "Guilty. I'm alive, but sometimes I think I shouldn't be. That guy, Kiba Inuzuka shouldn't have died that day. It should have been me. I was ready. I was going to die in Sasuke's arms. I was prepared to die."

"But, you lived."

"And he didn't."

The pain nearly broke him. He kept the phone cradled to his ear while he wept. He wept for the loss of the life required for him to live. He cried out of gratitude for being allowed to live a little longer--for being allowed to taste, touch, hear, and smell the world.

"Have you had a chance to say thank you, Naruto? You were given one of the most precious gifts possible, maybe you should consider that." Itachi's voice soothingly purred in his ears, calm and soothing.

"I did, to Mrs. Inuzuka," he whispered.

"What about to the one who really gave the gift? Have you thanked him?"

Naruto blinked, his mouth falling open. "I…what do you mean?"

"Your guilt is normal. Such a second chance requires a sacrifice. You might want to consider going to the cemetery and saying your thank you in person. It might help."

"I guess," Naruto mumbled as tears continued to leak from his eyes.

"You don't sound convinced," chuckled Itachi. "I have an appointment, but if you need to talk, call me. You're like a brother to me, just like Sasuke. Get this fixed so you can enjoy your trip."

"Thanks, Itachi."

He wiped at the residual tears while reaching for his cell and pressing a number saved in the memory and waited for the other end to pick up. His hand trembled while it held the phone in a death grip. His heart felt as if it moved up into his throat.

"Hello?" answered a woman's tired voice.

"Mrs. Inuzuka? It's Naruto Uzumaki. I was wondering if I could ask you something?"

oOo

"I'm home," Sasuke called out into the apartment. "Have you finished packing, Naruto? If you haven't, I'm going to kick your ass."

Naruto couldn't stop the small smile already on his face from widening into a full out grin. His body could barely stop moving from all the excitement. Ever since he spoke to Mrs. Inuzuka, the dark cloud surrounding him began to disperse.

"Naruto?" Sasuke strolled into the bedroom. "Are you ready?"

"I'm always ready." Naruto moved to Sasuke and wrapped his arms around his waist, pressing their lips together in a long, slow kiss. It felt like a lifetime since they shared such a moment. Naruto's recovery and subsequent depression made any such act few and far between. It was something he wanted to make up to Sasuke for. "I love you."

Sasuke's dark brows lifted into his hairline as he pulled away. "What did I do?"

Naruto smiled and tightened his grip on Sasuke. "I was wondering if I could ask a favor before we go?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, looking very much uncertain to his request. Not that Naruto could blame him. Before his illness took serious hold, the favors possibly asked of him might not be the most sane. "Depends."

The grin left Naruto's face and he pressed his ear to Sasuke's chest, listening to the steady beat. It was the one constant in his life. Prior to his surgery, not even his own heart had that honor. "Our plane doesn't leave for five hours, so I thought we could take a drive.

"You want to take a drive?" Sasuke pulled back with a disgruntled look plastered over his face. "Five hours before we leave for the Caribbean and you want to go for a drive? Where the hell do you want to go?"

"To say an official thank you." Naruto's gaze shifted to the arranged bouquet of summer flowers he had picked up from the nearby florist just a few minutes prior. "It took a while to get back on my feet, and then when I felt better, I was scared. Even after meeting Mrs. Inuzuka, it still felt surreal. Thinking that someone died just so I could stick around a little while longer felt selfish. I couldn't seem to accept it."

"You shouldn't feel guilty." Sasuke tightened his arms around Naruto. "He didn't need it anymore."

"Sasuke." Naruto gave Sasuke a shove on his shoulder. "Someone died. Don't demean his sacrifice."

"You lived. I don't regret anything. I'm sorry he had to die, but I would have gone out there and found someone myself if it meant you would live. If I had my way, you would never have suffered at all."

It was touching, the depths of Sasuke's devotion. There were times when he was hard and arrogant. He could come across as a very cold person, but then there were the days not long after the surgery when Sasuke would lay curled against Naruto and cry seemingly never-ending streams of tears. It hurt so much that he had put Sasuke through this. He had known since he was little that he would die young, but had still allowed Sasuke in his life. It was his fault for each one of those tears.

"Please, Sasuke. I've been selfish, but I want to pay my respects and say thank you before we leave."

"It's an hour and a half drive, Naruto." Sasuke folded his arms across his chest, putting up a determined front, but in his eyes, he was wavering to Naruto's wishes. "Fine, we'll go."

Relief spread quickly across Naruto's face. He couldn't do this without Sasuke there with him. Just finding the courage to do so was a struggle.

"Well, let's go, but we're putting the suitcases in the car. If it gets too late, I'm turning around and heading to the airport." Sasuke grabbed his bag that was packed the night before and reached for Naruto's orange wheeled travel case only to have Naruto take it in hand.

"I'm not sick anymore," he said with a smile. "You don't realize the little things like carrying your own bag until you can barely carry yourself, let alone your bag."

Sasuke's face softened and he pulled Naruto into a hug, burying his face in his neck and breathing deeply. "Whenever I think of before, all I can think about is how I almost lost you."

"I almost lost you too." Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist. "But if we don't hurry, we won't make it to the cemetery in time before our flight leaves."

"Fine. I never could tell you no," huffed Sasuke as he pulled away. "You better make your thank you quick."

oOo

The sun shone down on them as they made their way through the little gate enclosed cemetery next to a small white church. It was a quaint area, not cluttered as were some of the larger cemeteries and was well cared for. The size made finding the headstone a simple task.

For a long moment, Naruto stared at the writing engraved on the gray marble. Kiba Inuzuka's name was carved along with his date of birth and death. Below and to the side was a small engraved image of a dog relaxed in sleepy repose. Small figurines of dogs lined the stone, making Naruto smile at the whimsical decorations.

"I guess he was a dog lover," mused Naruto.

"I'd say so." Sasuke shifted beside him and tucked his hands into the material of his jeans. "Do you want to say a prayer or something?"

"No," answered Naruto. He lowered the flowers to the base of the stone before stepping back and wrapping an arm around Sasuke's waist. "I just wanted to say thank you. He deserves a thank you for what he sacrificed for us."

For another long minute, both stared at the stone before Naruto spoke again. "I think him and I could have been friends."

A smile curved Sasuke's lips. "You can be friends with anyone. I don't think you have a single enemy in the world."

"Yeah, but something in my gut tells me that him and I could have been really good friends, maybe even best friends." Naruto leaned forward and stroked his hand along the rough top of the marble. "I guess I'll have to wait a few years before I can thank him in person."

"Hopefully a lot of years."

"Yeah, this is a good heart. It will last me a while." Naruto sighed and leaned his head against Sasuke. "I'm ready to go to the beach now. I really needed this, before I could really say I was completely recovered."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned toward the car. "I think coming here was a good thing."

"Really?" asked Naruto. 

"Yeah, I do," said Sasuke.

Naruto grinned up at Sasuke. "Me, too."

oOo

Naruto groaned and leaned tiredly on Sasuke as they strolled through the airport to a line of taxis waiting to take them to their hotel. The balmy breeze ruffled their hair when they stepped outside into the warm, salt tinged air. Blue skies dotted with wisps of white clouds provided perfect countenance to the lush green trees dotting the distance.

"I can't believe I'm in the Caribbean." Naruto took a deep breath. "It looks just like I imagined."

"All you've seen is the airport," griped Sasuke good naturedly.

Naruto pouted and gave his lover's shoulder a playful shove. "Well then, the airport is just as I imagined it to be."

Sasuke snorted and led Naruto to a waiting taxi. He rattled off the name of the hotel and Naruto watched in excitement as the airport disappeared from view and the beaches were soon visible through the various hotels dotting the landscape.

Naruto turned to find Sasuke staring at him, his dark eyes glistening in the shade of the taxi. "What?"

"Happy looks good on you."

A grin teased Naruto's lips. "Oh really? And what makes you think I'm happy?"

"I can tell." Sasuke leaned over and brushed a kiss over Naruto's lips. "You weren't happy for a long time."

Azure eyes widened visibly. "You knew?"

"Not why. I just knew you weren't happy. I thought the trip might help, but I guess you figured it out on your own."

"Itachi helped a little."

Sasuke chuckled and brushed his knuckles down Naruto's cheek. "My brother has that gift. It's why he's the doctor and I'm not."

"You have your own talents." Naruto traced a hand over Sasuke's thigh. "Talents I'm most eager to explore."

"Tease," hissed Sasuke, his hands taking hold of Naruto's questing hand and stopping it just shy of its goal. "Later."

"That's a promise."

The cab pulled before a large hotel. It looked more fitting to be called a castle than a hotel at nearly fifteen stories high with white walls and balconies overlooking the churning surf of a private beach. Bellmen walked to and fro, helping guests load and unload their luggage in well practiced efficiency.

Naruto's lips gaped open at the ritzy place. Sasuke wasn't a poor man by any standard and his tastes definitely showed in his choice of elite hotel. "Wow."

"This is the hotel that Itachi and I stayed at with our parents several years ago, when I was still in middle school. I was glad to find it was still in business." Sasuke stepped from the taxi and smirked as a bellhop moved forward immediately to help remove their luggage from the trunk.

"It's pretty ritzy."

"Come on," Sasuke said. "Let's go get checked in."

Naruto wrapped an arm around Sasuke's waist. "Can't wait to ravish me?"

"After that stunt you pulled in the taxi, you bet your sweet ass you will get some ravishment."

Sasuke moved ahead and confirmed their reservation for a week while Naruto gazed around the ornate design of the lower floor. Large bouquets of tropical flowers stood on finely polished display tables and large soft looking sofas dotted the interior. The interior was just as expensive as the exterior.

"Come on, let's go to our room." Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm and led him to an elevator, followed by the bellhop and their luggage.

Once in the suite, the bellhop gave his perfunctory speech and Sasuke tipped him from the spare cash in his pocket before drawing Naruto into his arms once they were alone again. "Like it?"

"Damn, Sasuke. Do we really need this much space? It's not like we're living here."

"Let me spoil you a little." Sasuke lowered his lips to Naruto's neck and nibbled lightly on the warm flesh. "I like doing that."

A shiver worked through Naruto. This was the first sexual overture Sasuke had instigated since Naruto went on the heart transplant list. "Sasuke--"

"It's been a while."

"Yeah," gasped Naruto as cool hands tugged his shirt from his jeans and began inching under it to stroke over his stomach. A small touch of panic pulled him from the bliss Sasuke was bringing to life in his body. "Wait."

Sasuke pulled back and cocked his head, a frown pulling down his lips. "Don't tell me you don't want this. We've been together long enough that I can read you pretty damn well."

Naruto's tongue darted out to moisten his suddenly dry lips. "I'm just nervous."

"About the scar?" Sasuke wrapped his fingers around the hem of Naruto's shirt and began to slowly tug it upward. "If it's a part of your body, then it is perfect."

The guilt Naruto housed was gone, but his self-consciousness over the appearance of the scar wasn't so easily dismissed. It was juvenile to think such a mar on his body would frighten or disgust Sasuke after he had stayed beside him when he was barely skin and bones from his illness.

"Can we leave the shirt on?"

Sasuke lifted his hands to brush down Naruto's cheeks before tilting his head so their lips could meet in a leisurely kiss. His hands glided down and curved into Naruto's jean clad hips and pulled their groins securely together. Lips parted and slowly made their way across a sweat damp neck. 

Naruto closed his eyes and groaned deep in his throat. It had been so long since any sort of touch that could even be remotely construed as sexual had passed across his body. Now with his body healed, he was primed for something a bit more tantalizing than slow kisses. Beneath his shirt, his nipples tightened and his pants tented visibly. Uncertainty was pushed aside in favor of the slow building pleasure.

He could feel Sasuke's care and caution. In the past, sex was a slow and gentle process. Hot and sweaty sex was too straining on Naruto's fragile heart. Now with his new heart beating strong and sure in his chest, slow and gentle was the last he wanted.

"Sasuke, I'm not sick any more."

Sasuke ignored him and continued to kiss and nuzzle his way down the center of Naruto's chest, directly over the scar. "Oh really? If you aren't sick, then you should be able to take off your shirt with no trouble."

Teeth latched on gently to one of Naruto's nipples through the material of his shirt and drew the flesh into Sasuke's mouth. His muscles tensed beneath the onslaught. The warm wet environment of Sasuke's mouth coupled with the rough texture of the shirt sent small shivers of pleasure down his spine. Sasuke had the most talented mouth.

His mind was so lost on the sensation, that he did not realize his shirt was being tugged upward until cool air touched the puckered flesh of his damp nipples. It was too late to fight and he was forced to watch as Sasuke stared unimpeded at the dark pink scar running down the length of Naruto's sternum.

"Perfect." Sasuke ran his tongue up the length of the scar and then back down to where the scar ended. "Never hide from me."

Naruto's lower lip quivered and his body shook. "Okay."

Rising to his full height, Sasuke's lips quirked upward. "Now, what were you saying about now being sick?"

Without waiting for Naruto to answer, he pressed him into the wall and immediately assaulted his lips. Eyes as dark as obsidian shone with a lust so deep, it caught Naruto in a net and dragged him along into a place he had never explored with anyone. The gentleness seemed a thing of the past when now only passion without limits bound them both.

Naruto was losing control. He was so turned on but the hard feel of Sasuke's lips on his with the biting of teeth and the sucking of flesh. It was like being with Sasuke for the first time again. Their bodies were finding new limits to push with the loosing of long held inhibitions.

The stucco wall pressed hard into Naruto's shoulders and his legs shifted back and forth to press himself against Sasuke in small thrusts. His heart pounded in his ears and he wasn't afraid. It was strong. His body welcomed it and it worked hard and sure inside him. There was no fear to be had.

There was only Sasuke.

"I want you against the wall, the chair, the sofa." Sasuke bit down hard on Naruto's ear, causing him to release a low moan. "Everywhere."

He latched onto one of Naruto's legs and lifted it around his hips while grinding forward. The act brought their groins even closer together, rubbing insistently. Both were so excited, they could easily come from this simple pleasure.

Sasuke growled into Naruto's ear. "I'm going to fuck you so hard."

Crass words rarely found their way into their sex life, not for lack of desire, but from fear. There was always the fear held by both that Naruto's heart would give out if overly excited or stressed. Now those fears were tosses aside as easily as Naruto's shirt.

With gasping breath, Sasuke pulled away and dropped Naruto's leg so to lead him to the perfectly made bed. He didn't pause in the act of shoving him down and then crawling on top of him so to bring their groins and chests into perfect alignment. The grinding resumed, but only for a moment of uninhibited thrusts before Sasuke pulled back and quickly divested himself of his shirt, pants, and undergarments. Naruto's quickly followed.

Hooded blue eyes traced the flush encompassing Sasuke's body from his cheeks down to his chest and then to the erect shaft curving in a slight arch. A hand lifted to trace the nearly hairless chest, pausing to stroke over coral colored nipples, watching as they hardened to diamond points. He might not have thought anything unusual except for the faint shaking rocking the hard body suspended above him. "Sasuke?"

"Just…give me a second." Sasuke's body hunched down and he pressed his face to Naruto's neck, tremors still rocking his body. "I just need a second."

Naruto's eyes widened, and his lips spread into a grin. He knew Sasuke took care of business when he needed to. They had been together long enough, that he knew when Sasuke came from the shower with a hooded, lazy look in his eyes, the extended time beneath the water wasn't just to ease tense muscles. He also knew that masturbation did not compare to the shared heat and lust of mutual pleasure.

Sasuke had not had sex in over a year, and it showed in his lack of control, much to Naruto's delight. His grin widened and his hand slid even lower, stroking over the quivering muscles of a taut abdomen and down to curl around the angry red shaft rising from a thatch of dark pubic hair.

Heat filled Naruto's hand. "Damn, Sasuke, did you get a penis enlargement while I was sick and not tell me?"

"Shut up," he hissed into Naruto's neck.

Naruto bit his lip to keep in the laugh and proceeded to squeeze his hand in rhythmic bursts. Feeling Sasuke like this in his arms was so amazing. He had missed intimacy of sex, but to be free to explore more avenues of pleasure was an addicting high. Judging from Sasuke's quivering body, there would not be much finesse in this first time. Quick and hard--something Naruto looked forward to.

"Oh, God," groaned Sasuke, the shaking in his body intensifying as his hips pressed forward into the touch.

"Are you even going to last long enough to stick it in me?"

Naruto knew he had pushed Sasuke over that invisible line of restraint. In the past, doing so was nearly impossible. Today, was completely different.

It was a new start for both.

With a quick movement, Sasuke had Naruto flipped to his stomach. Fingers grazed down his spine, until they reached the curve of his ass. Before he could even complain about the position, teeth sunk into the rise of his right buttock.

"What the hell?"

He could hear Sasuke smirking at him. A tongue stroked over the abused flesh, followed by light kisses. "Consider it punishment."

Naruto growled under his breath until Sasuke's tongue stroked over the heavy flesh of his balls hanging low between his slight splayed thighs. "Shit."

"What was that Naruto?" Sasuke gave the flesh a slight nip. "I couldn't hear you?"

"Fucking hell, Sasuke," screeched Naruto. The nip to his ball sac was just sharp enough to feel. The blood flow to his lower regions seemed to have tripled. 

"That's what I like to hear." Sasuke sat back and glanced to where their bags were sitting several feet away. His eyes shifted to the bedside where complementary lotion was placed and immediately reached for it without a word.

"How do you feel about spanking?" purred Sasuke as a lotion slicked hand began to rub his erection in slow, even strokes.

Naruto's eyes grew wide. "Spanking?"

Sasuke gave a little hum before bringing his hand down to Naruto's rump in a sharp slap. Naruto shouted indignantly, though he could not deny the sting on his ass caused a pleasant tightening in his scrotum. As he was rolled back onto his back, Sasuke moved atop him.

"So?" Those dark eyes promised so much and asked so little. They were dark gems that belonged to him. Every part of Sasuke belonged to him.

"Later," groaned Naruto. "Now, I just want to feel you."

A volatile grin creased Sasuke's face. It was an expression Naruto rarely experienced and startled him, for in that very instant, his hips were canted upward and a thick hardness was pressed insistently inside.

"Oh shit," he groaned under the onslaught. It had been over a year since he was last penetrated. Pain was inevitable, especially with only a little lotion slicking Sasuke's girth. The hurt was minor compared to the sensation of being filled again, of feeling connected to Sasuke.

"I think you got tighter," groaned Sasuke into Naruto's neck.

Naruto shook his head and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist, seeking purchase on the sweat slick skin of his back. "I bet you did get a penis augmentation."

"Shut up," Sasuke growled, pulling back slightly before thrusting forward again with a sharp jerk of his hips.

If Naruto could have answered that with a jibe, he would have. However, his tongue was currently unable to compose a single word, much less an entire sentence. Pleasure ate away at his mind until he was only able to feel.

Sasuke seemed equally effected. His body continued to shiver even as he pressed in and out of Naruto's body. Thrusts lost any semblance of gentleness and became hard pounding jerks.

Naruto reached between them to jerk himself. The taut nerves across his entire body sent him into flames of pleasure. His heart pounded heavy in his chest, a sensation that meant only pleasure and not illness.

"Sasuke," he gasped out as his body drew up. The end was quick and hard, pulling from deep within him and pushing it outward to expel semen between their gyrating bodies.

Sasuke went rigid. His eyes were closed and teeth bared in an almost vicious sight. His body shuddered powerfully and warmth was shot into Naruto. The orgasm rocked him and his body remained stiff and unyielding until he finally turned boneless and collapsed on Naruto.

Even as their heartbeats returned to normal, Sasuke continued to quiver in Naruto's arms. His arms remained tightly wrapped around his body and his face hidden in the warm curve of Naruto's neck.

"Sasuke? Are you alright?"

The shaking did not stop, but seemed to intensify at the question. A small sob broke from Sasuke's throat and his arms tightened to such a degree, he nearly forced all the breath from Naruto's body. "You almost left me. I thought I would never be able to hold you again."

Naruto's eyes went wide. "Sasuke?"

"I almost lost you."

The six months since his surgery had not completely healed the emotional damage to Sasuke's heart so easily as Naruto's physical damage. As he lay cradling Sasuke against his chest, he wondered what it truly meant to have a complete recovery. Was it just the body, or did a complete recovery involve the heart and mind as well? If that was the case, was Sasuke's pain a part of it, or was his recovery a completely different ordeal?

"I'm here now," whispered Naruto. "And I'm not going anywhere for a long time."

Gradually, Sasuke's shivering slowed until only the occasional tremor rocked his body. If the emotional was involved in healing, then they had not reached that point of complete recovery, but they were getting there. This trip to the Caribbean was just the first step. It was a long road to recovery. For both of them. One day, they would look back on this and wonder how they survived it. Naruto knew the answer to that.

They survived it together.

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Naruto nor the characters thereof.
> 
> Written upon request by getayaoilover from Ygallery. Gaia77 gets credit for giving me the inspiration for visiting the cemetery. I swear girl, you inspire me all too often. :)


End file.
